ARNWOOD TIMBER LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
01091047 · ltd · incorporated 1973-01-16
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Oct 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 32.9y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 32.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
99 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Oct 2024Oct 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-10-312024-10-31
Average employees5500

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

1 signal detected in this company's narrative notes — going-concern language, audit opinion, contingent liabilities, related-party transactions.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Recent activity

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-07-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-07-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-07-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-12-01
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2022-06-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-11-29
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  8. 2021-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-07-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-06-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-07-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-06-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-08-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-12-02
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-12-02
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  16. 2009-03-30
    ➖
    ARNOLD, John Alexander resigned
    director
  17. 1997-07-14
    ➕
    ARNOLD, Robert John appointed
    secretary
  18. 1997-07-14
    ➖
    ARNOLD, David Andrews resigned
    secretary
  19. 1993-09-27
    ➖
    ARNOLD, David Andrews resigned
    director
  20. 1993-08-11
    ➕
    ARNOLD, Robert John appointed
    director
  21. 1993-08-03
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
  22. 1973-01-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ARNWOOD TIMBER LIMITED

Owner dependency

93/100
Critical — business is the founder

The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 33 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 33 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 53 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Robert John Arnold
Individual · British · DOB 02/1967 · age 59
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

7 specific questions generated from this company's actual signals — liquidity, leverage, director age, charge count, red flags, age-of-company.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
🔒Advanced scoring suite

Exit-route ranking, improvement thesis, quiet-distress detector, covenant-pressure proxy, extraction monitor, approaching triggers, ownership drift, local cluster, value trap, debt capacity, archetype classification — 48+ scoring modules.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1973-01-16
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47190 — Other retail sale in non-specialised stores

Registered office

61 Millbrook Road East
Southampton
SO15 1HN

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-07-30
Last made up to: 2025-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-11
Last: 2025-11-27

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

ARNOLD, Robert John→
secretary · appointed 1997-07-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ARNOLD, Robert John→
director · ~59y · appointed 1993-08-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ARNOLD, David Andrews→
secretary · resigned 1997-07-14
Resigned
ARNOLD, David Andrews→
director · ~93y · resigned 1993-09-27
Resigned
ARNOLD, John Alexander→
director · ~90y · resigned 2009-03-30
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Bank PLC
Single debenture1 property03/08/1993—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (99 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-06
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-12-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-03
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2021-11-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-07-14